THE THREE MOONS PACK

17. An encounter of the third kind

I noticed one thing afterwards. Koran had not intervened. So I turned to him, still in the background. Our eyes met before mine slipped towards Miss Barbie hanging from his arm. Her expression resembled that of a beauty queen parading with her king.

I turned away from them, they made me sick.

Cahl pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his right eyebrow, slightly open.

Who owned an embroidered handkerchief in the era of a pack of Kleenex?!

There were very few students around us, they had all scattered like a flock of frightened sparrows.

“You want to tell me what this is all about?” I yelled at the bad boy.

His face was turning blue-green in several places. This didn’t prevent him from rolling his muscles, less impressive than those of his cousin nonetheless.

Erwan gave me a half-smirk, very childish, then winked at me.

“Baby, we were just greeting each other.”

“Are you kidding me?”

He was about to answer me while putting on his leather jacket when he was interrupted by the arrival of Ulrich and his eternal book.

Ulrich froze for a second when he saw Cahl, who replied with a shark smile.

“Hello, Ulrich... You look great, my brother.”

“I would like to return the compliment, alas, your face looks like abstract art.”

Behind the sarcasm, one could feel Ulrich’s fear.

Were those two brothers?

So why was he part of the Bhrean pack?

“Don’t hesitate to come and eat at our table at noon,” suggested Cahl, in a soft voice. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other!”

“Thanks for the invitation. I decline it nevertheless. It’s against my beliefs to share my meal with vile forms of humanity. If you will excuse me, I must go and sprinkle myself with holy water.”

With that, Ulrich leaned his chest slightly forward in a greeting as distinguished as it was stiff and finally walked away with long strides.

“I was delighted to see you all again,” Cahl quipped, following his brother’s with his eyes. “I think this year will be very interesting.”

There he put his golden eyes on mine.

“Yes, very interesting,” he slowly repeated.

The meta of the Leirigh pack raised his right hand in the air before waving his fingers in a mock sign of farewell. Then he turned his back on us, whistling a gloomy melody.

“Erwan, you stay away from him,” Koran ordered.

I jumped. I hadn’t heard him come closer.

“He was the first to start trouble,” grumbled the meta, putting his hands in his jeans pockets.

The blond giant raised an eyebrow.

“What did he say to make you mad?”

The cute thug smiles with all his teeth.

“Hello, Erwan”.

“That’s all ?!” I cried, bewildered.

“It was all about how he pronounced that sentence. Very sneaky. He provoked me!” justified the bad boy.

“Ah, yes... he was looking for a fight. It’s obvious...” Koran mocked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I thought so, too,” agreed his cousin, insincere.

“Stop jumping at the slightest pretext to try and beat him up. Must I remind you of the state you were in last year?”

“A few little sores, nothing at all...”

“Two broken ribs, fractured jaw, thirty-eight stitches...”

Erwan pushed passed him.

“Okay, okay. We’re not going to make an inventory or the puppy will faint.”

And I wasn’t far from it.

I knew that Erwan liked to fight, but at this rate, he was going to die.

As Gina walked away, impatient to join the others, Koran held us, my half-brother and me by the arm.

In a synchronous movement, we looked up at the future Alpha.

“Another thing... Don’t tell anyone you spoke the sacred language. Okay?”

I blush at this memory.

I almost forgot this detail.

“Why?” asked Erwan, a bit aggressive.

Koran’s eyes became heavy with innuendo. His cousin turned his own away, bitter.

Yes, this was all well and good, but I wanted to know what happened here!

“Can someone explain to me? Or do I still not have enough body hair for you to bother?”

My favourite thug freed himself from Koran's grip before giving me a brilliant look of contained anger.

“It’s just because our respective fathers would take a very dim view of you and me communicating in the sacred language. This would mean that we could claim the Bhrean pack’s throne as the dominant couple. Huh, KoKo my love, that’s why we have to shut up?”

Koko murdered him with a dark look, then turned only to me.

“Our fathers are twin brothers...”

“Non-identical twins,” Erwan said.

Koran cursed.

“That’s not the most important thing!” the future Alpha got carried away.

“What are you saying? I have the Latin charm of the family... you look like the result of a cross between a Viking and Conan the barbarian.”

“This Viking will stick you one if you continue to open it!”

Erwan sent him a kiss, just mimicking the sound with his mouth, in response. Koran took a deep breath to keep calm.

“Anyway,” he went on. “Erwan’s father, having not found his wolf, could never claim to take the whole Bhrean pack under his control. It also happens that my father isn't with his real Banish arksam, his wolf soul mate. They, therefore, reached an agreement of friendly understanding and mutual support. Being two brothers, who are twins, but also two powerful Alphas, each leads his pack of the Bhrean branch. You have just communicated as a dominant couple. This news could create an unprecedented power struggle. The seconds in command of our two Brunans are likely to jump on the occasion especially...”

“Especially?” I repeated, trying to assimilate the information.

Koran stared at me with his milk-chocolate eyes.

“Especially since it seems that we also have similarities of a dominant couple, you and me...” he finished, in a deeper voice.

He gave me butterflies in my stomach.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds.

Yes, we had many similarities even... Indeed.

“I'll become the issue of the so-called throne, right?”

The two meta males greeted my question with more explicit silence than words.

I was still in trouble!

The rest of the day went rather calmly. Even the interlude in the cafeteria turned out to be less intense than I had feared.

Koran and Erwan looked at each other from time to time like watchdogs, but thanks to the enamoured hugs of my very dear red-haired friend with the improbable cup size and Gina, they remained Zen.

Ulrich hadn't touched his tray in favour of a novel that must have been thrilling.

I stared at him intensely for several minutes before he sighed, defeated.

“All right, miss. Ask me this question and let’s satisfy this consuming curiosity together...”

“Cahl is your brother. Why are you part of the Bhrean pack?” I inquired in a low voice.

The blond, dandy-looking young man lowered his book slightly. His eyes still had that scary effect on me. There was nothing human about such a clear look.

“Divergence of opinion with my original pack. Bhrean adopted me later. I’m more in tune with my new family.”

He used neutral intonation. However, I felt deep wounds.

“What kind of divergence?”

His eyelids narrowed.

“You don’t know anything about Leirigh, do you?”

I shook my head.

“Meet me at the end of class, in the gymnasium,” he said soberly, before dismissing me by picking up his book.

It wasn’t far from 6 p.m. when I found him at our meeting place.

Sitting on a mountain of foam mats. He was still reading.

Out of curiosity, I deciphered the cover.

“Charlaine Harris... Club Dead? What kind of book is that?”

Ulrich closed it so he, too, could take a look at the cover.

“Bit-lit. I really like it.”

I burst out laughing. He had more of a mind to read Proust than paranormal romance.

The meta-wolf smiles.

“I’m an incurable romantic, and it’s always amusing to see how authors perceive us, creatures who aren't supposed to exist...”

I shrugged, wincing.

“I imagine it must be funny, indeed.”

With a flexible movement, he jumped from the pile of mats to join me.

“What I’m going to teach you may shock you, so prepare yourself psychologically,” he informed me in a cold tone.

Despite myself, my heart started to beat faster under the effect of fear.

What was this jaded-looking blond going to tell me?

Ulrich began walking all around me, slowly, watching me intently with his pale, icy eyes.

“The dominant couple in the Bhrean pack gave birth to three brothers. The eldest, Simyan, the twins Aldwin, father of Koran, and Angus, the father of Erwan. Simyan is Cahl’s father... mine, too. My dear dad is different from his younger siblings. The wolf who inhabits him isn’t a fearful animal, preferring to flee from man. No, he’s a terrifying predator who craves power and domination. His intelligence is matched only by his cruelty. After leaving our dear little town, he went to the capital to enter a prestigious school, supported by local mafias. Today he's an accomplished CEO, as rich as a man can be. He looks at politics like a child in front of a toyshop window. I'm sure Simyan will get his way sooner or later. But that’s not the worst, miss. Oh no...”

“No... no?” I said in a very small voice.

Ulrich laughed maliciously.

“My father believes that humans deserve only one thing...”

Here he moved closer to me, his eyes suddenly yellowish, animal.

“… to be considered prey. The Leirighs don’t devour the animals of the woods. They track men, women... all humans who have the misfortune of hanging out late at night. In an organized pack, chasing your friends, and your neighbours. Do you understand the dreadful concept?”

A stream of bile invaded my mouth, I held a trembling hand to my lips.

“They... they eat people?!”

Ulrich gave a frightening smile, revealing wolf’s teeth.

“Bing, bing, bing! We have a winner!”

I decided to walk home. An urgent need to unravel this whole story. It was too much for a handful of days.

I wanted to see my father. Or at least hear his voice on the phone.

I couldn’t reach him and it was driving me crazy.

When I tried it again, I almost threw my phone in a fit of rage. Instead, I burst into tears.

“Dad, why are you leaving me without news... alone with all these crazy werewolves?!” I choked, my head bowed to the side of the road.

I didn’t immediately see the huge black car slow down alongside me.

When it stopped, I wiped the saltwater that had run down my cheeks with the back of my hand and my fingers.

What the hell was this?!

As I approached the vehicle, the rear window on my side lowered in a hushed noise.

I couldn’t immediately tell who I was dealing with. Even using my hand as a visor didn’t help me more.

“Can I drive you back, neighbour from history class?” joked a voice that I easily recognized.

Cahl.

His brother’s words came back to me.

This guy was one of those who ate humans like others eat tuna sandwiches.

“No, thank you,” I said, feeling as white as a sheet.

A small silence ensued.

“I see,” he contented himself with saying with this trailing intonation that I found personal, and a little snobbish, as well.

Then the meta-wolf allowed silence to settle again, this one heavier.

I was about to leave him there, barely keeping myself from running and screaming like a possessed woman.

“Beth,” Cahl called out in a scolding tone.

I stepped back.

He had just used an animal voice, and Alpha, most importantly.

“What?” I said, ordering my feet not to return to him to answer this call.

“Why do you reek of fear?” he asked more softly from the limo.

I froze like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car, eyes wide.

“Since I didn’t smell this fragrance at school this morning, I’m surprised to sense it this evening... What has happened in the meantime?”

“Maybe this morning I didn’t know that the metas of the Leirigh pack were devouring people for brunch...” I replied, shivering.

As they say, never two without three: there was silence again acknowledging receipt of the information.

Suddenly, Cahl got out of the car. The bluish reflections of his hair, with the rays of the sun fading, became purple.

He smoothed his jacket with a fluid and graceful gesture.

Then his golden eyes looked for mine. Which I quickly turned away from.

“Ulrich has a fine tongue.”

I didn’t answer. Without wanting to lie, I also didn’t feel the need to confirm the accusation.

In a few strides, the meta was near me. He caught a rebellious lock of my hair between his long thin fingers. The hands of a pianist, I thought suddenly.

“Yes, I play the piano. And I'm particularly good at golf too.”

I jumped. No. He hadn’t just read my mind!

This thought triggered a fierce smile from Cahl.

“Three cousins... three dominant couple affinities. However, I'm powerful enough to prevent you from conquering my mind.”

“Power has nothing to do with it... It may be a matter of feelings,” I retorted.

His smile faded.

Many thanks to my brain for running faster than I could have hoped!

“Feelings?” he repeated, as if I had just spoken a foreign language.

I was going to take a step back, but the meta of the Leirigh pack tightened his grip on my hair. The pull on my scalp hurt.

“Don’t choose your wolf male too quickly, you little half-breed...”

Cahl leaned his face slightly toward me until his lips brushed against mine.

Our eyes were glued to each other, and I could almost count each gold glitter in his hot pupils.

“If you behave yourself, I will let you enter my head. Prove to me that you are trustworthy...” he said.

“What if I don’t feel like it?” I whispered.

The meta laughed softly.

“Sooner or later you will come to me. It’s only a matter of time.”

“Never!”

This time, he burst out laughing while moving away to get back to his limousine.

“If only to save your father, my little half-breed!” he said cheerfully.

I stared at his back, horrified. Then ran to catch him: in vain, as he had already entered the car.

I banged furiously on the tinted glass.

“What do you mean?! Answer me! What do you know about my father?!”

He ignored me.

“Cahl!” I yelled in despair, watching him join the road, and then leave.

My father... what has happened to him?

Thank goodness I had taken my mountain bike. I congratulated myself for not having sold it on eBay!

As soon as I got home, I went straight into the garage to get on this torture device.

To then pedal towards Koran's place and his father’s pack members.

They were the only ones who could help me with my father, especially if he found himself in danger, as Cahl implied!

Sweating and breathless, I threw my bike on the dusty ground in front of the door of the blond giant’s lair.

After careful consideration, perhaps I should have knocked... Or mentally warned him of my presence, instead of opening the door wide.

The spectacle that awaited me tore my heart to shreds.

Koran lying on the bed, with Gina on him, barely covered by a crumpled sheet.

Barbie turned in my direction with an ecstatic face and sparkling eyes.

As for Koran, he expressed baffled surprise.

My features must have reflected a horrified stupor.

“I... I’m sorry to interrupt... Koran, I have to talk to you, it’s urgent. I’ll wait outside.”

On these last words, I brutally closed the door.